Cryptocurrencies: The Anonymous Payment Method Of The Future

At Zamnesia, we love everything crypto. Click here for more information on why we support cryptocurrencies, and to see how you can start using your favourite coins at our store today!

At Zamnesia, we’re proud to announce that we now accept payments from all major cryptocurrencies. Keep reading for a full list of the currencies accepted via our store, and get shopping!

WHY GO CRYPTO?

“Cryptocurrency” is a buzzword that’s been driving the finance world crazy over the last few years. But what is it about Bitcoin, Ethereum, and others that make these currencies so important?

Cryptocurrencies are revolutionising the way we handle money. For centuries, we’ve been taught to believe that our money is best managed by some kind of central institution (like a bank or government). However, cryptocurrencies have shown us that that’s not true. Currencies like Bitcoin and others (which we’ll explore in more detail below) have made it clear that by using blockchain technology, we can securely send and receive money all around the globe while maintaining financial privacy and without ever having to walk into a bank.

Despite all the positives, plenty of people are still hesitant about using cryptocurrency. At Zamnesia, we’re happy to say that we’re embracing the change with open arms. We’ve already accepted Bitcoin payments for a while but, starting today, we’ll also accept payments from other coins, including Ethereum, Litecoin, and more.

Here are 9 cryptocurrencies we currently accept as payment on Zamnesia:

9 CRYPTOCURRENCIES CHANGING THE WAY WE PAY

ETHEREUM

Ethereum, along with Bitcoin, is one of the biggest cryptocurrencies in the world. Unlike Bitcoin, however, Ethereum is more than just a single coin. In essence, Ethereum is an open software platform allowing people to build decentralised applications on the Ethereum blockchain.

This is essentially the biggest difference between Ethereum and Bitcoin; while they are both run using their own blockchains, Bitcoin is really just a single application of blockchain technology, whereas Ethereum can run the programming code of a variety of any decentralised app built on the platform.

Ether is the currency that powers the entire Ethereum network. Similar to Bitcoin, users can mine ether in order to earn currency in exchange for powering and updating the platform’s blockchain network. Users can then use the ether they’ve earned however they see fit. They can either trade it (like Bitcoin) or use it to pay for products and services online. Users also need a small amount of ether to use as “gas” to send ether to other users.

LITECOIN

Litecoin is a popular alternative to Bitcoin and Ethereum. Litecoin was created by Charlie Lee, an ex-Google employee who, according to BlockGeeks, had the vision of creating a “lighter” version of Bitcoin.

Bitcoin grew quickly and has become an incredible investment opportunity. Given the recent success of Bitcoin, anyone who holds any currency is unlikely to let go of it anytime soon. Litecoin, on the other hand, was designed to be used as an average payment method by people on a daily basis.

Litecoin went live in 2011 and is sometimes referred to as a “clone” of Bitcoin. Like Bitcoin, Litecoin is mined by those who provide the computational power needed to run the network. The main difference between the two is the algorithm used to ensure “proof-of-work” to verify the miners and the work they complete.

Without going into too much detail, Litecoin uses an algorithm known as s-crpyt, whereas Bitcoin uses an algorithm known as SHA 256. The main difference between the two is that mining s-crypt is much more accessible and essentially makes earning Litecoin accessible to people without the need for an ultra-powerful computer.

BCASH

BCash, also sometimes called Bitcoin Cash, is a currency running on the Bitcoin network. BCash is essentially run on its own blockchain, but is very similar to Bitcoin. However, it is built on much larger blocks of data, meaning the system can ultimately support more transactions per day. This is a big deal; after all, a system that supports more daily transactions can also support more daily users. BCash is also noted for charging lower transaction fees, which may also attract more users.

BCash went live in August 2017 and was essentially built by a group of miners who built a fork of the original Bitcoin network. They did this in order to create a network with lower transaction fees and a more stable exchange rate than Bitcoin. Once BCash went live, those who were already actively using Bitcoin and had full control over their wallet and private keys were automatically rewarded with “free” currency; they were given the same amount of BCash as they had in Bitcoin.

There was a lot of uncertainty about the launch of BCash, which still hasn’t been completely resolved. However, the network is well underway, with roughly 16.969.100 coins in circulation today.

DIGIBYTE

DigiByte is a cryptocurrency running on its own blockchain. Like other currencies, this blockchain serves as a public ledger detailing every single DGB transaction to date. And, like Bitcoin and others, it is run by miners who can sign up to mine the coin via Blockfactory or DigiHash.

DigiByte currently encompasses 3 main projects; DigiExplorer, a kind of search engine for the entire DigiByte network; Digibot-Telegram, a communications platform created together with the team behind the Telegram messenger; and DigiByte Gaming, a platform that allows users to win DGB by playing Counter Strike, World Of Warcraft, and League Of Legends.

Like Ethereum, DigiByte aims to explore and develop different applications for blockchain technology. It uses UTXO (or unspent transaction output) to track and verify transactions and provide security to its users.

ETHEREUM CLASSIC

Ethereum Classic came into being in 2016 following the “DAO attack”. The DAO, or Decentralized Autonomous Organization, was basically a kind of digital venture capital fund. The DAO managed to raise roughly $150 million USD in Ethereum and, after users took advantage of a flaw in its code, lost a third of its fund in what is being labelled a “hack” or “attack”.

In order to recuperate the lost funds, a vast majority of shareholders opted to build a fork in the original Ethereum blockchain and managed to recuperate the lost funds by essentially “overwriting” (for lack of a better term) the chain of data in the original blockchain. A small percentage of users, however, were against the idea of building this fork and instead wanted to keep the system running on the original Ethereum blockchain. And they did, by building Ethereum Classic.

Ethereum Classic is still running today and has divided some members of the crypto community. While it is run on similar protocols to Ethereum, there are some minor differences between the two currencies.

GAMECREDITS

GameCredits, as the name suggests, is the blockchain solution for the gaming industry. It is an open source currency designed to serve as the main form of payment for in-game purchases, as well as payouts for developers and gamers.

GameCredits was born in 2015 as GamersCoin. It is basically a clone of Litecoin, and uses similar protocols to keep its system running. While it runs on its own blockchain, GameCredits uses the same s-crypt algorithm to verify work and reward the miners powering the network.

Most of the specs behind the GameCredits blockchain are the same as those of Litecoin. For example, the cap for GameCredits is 84,000,000, and the block reward follows the same reward structure as Litecoin. Since its inception, GameCredits has managed to partner with Datcroft Games, one of the largest game developers in the world.

POTCOIN

PotCoin, as the name suggests, aims to be the official cryptocurrency of the cannabis industry. The cannabis industry has long had to deal with payment restrictions from banks and other payment methods who don’t want to get involved with the industry due to the legality issues surrounding cannabis. PotCoin tries to deal with these issues. It boasts instant transfers and low transaction costs. Coins can be easily transferred between users, as well as staked (to earn interest on currency) and traded (just like other digital currencies).

PotCoin was launched in 2014 and, like GameCredits, is essentially a clone of Litecoin with shorter block generation times to make for faster transactions. Like Litecoin, PotCoin can be mined, and miners are rewarded for each block they add to the existing chain.

TETHER

Tether is an interesting cryptocurrency whose value closely mirrors that of the US Dollar. According to the Tether website, the system essentially converts cash into a stable digital currency that (in theory) can be used just like regular USD.

Tether runs on its own blockchain like all other cryptocurrencies. However, where it really differentiates itself from other digital coins is that, according to the currency’s website, it is 100% backed by a reserve of USD. The reserve is apparently 1:1, meaning it contains 1 USD for each Tether in circulation.

VERTCOIN

Vertcoin is another growing cryptocurrency. Its big selling point is that it promises to be completely ASIC-resistant. ASICs are complex pieces of hardware and are commonly used to mine currencies like Bitcoin and ether. They are able to mine coins much faster than regular computers, meaning they make it really difficult for regular people to begin mining these currencies.

Vertcoin promises to be completely ASIC-resistant in order to create a truly decentralised system. After all, systems like Bitcoin and Ethereum have essentially become dominated by mining companies and ASIC manufacturers, which essentially undermines the idea of creating a decentralised currency system.

USE THE CURRENCY OF YOUR CHOICE AT ZAMNESIA TODAY

Our store now accepts payments from all of the above cryptocurrencies. This is all part of our mission to allow customers to pay for their products using the currency of their choice and support the idea of a global, decentralised money system

So, what are you waiting for? Put those hard-earned coins to use at our store today!

Written by: Steven Voser Steven Voser is an Emmy Award Nominated freelance journalist with a lot of experience under his belt. Thanks to a passion for all things cannabis, he now dedicates a lot of his times exploring the world of weed.